Shoe interconnecting means



Dec. 9, 1969 A. ORNSTEEN 3,482,335

SHOE INTERCONNECTING MEANS Filed Feb. 2, 1968 k x 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 7 /6INVENTOR. 65 ALFRED ORNSTEEN ,1 ATTORNEYS Dec. 9, 1969 A. ORNSTEEN3,482,335

SHOE INTERCONNECTING MEANS Filed Feb, 2, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 5

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ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,482,335 SHOE INTERCONNECTING MEANSAlfred Ornsteen, Waban, Mass., assignor to Kesslen Shoe Company,Kennebunk, Maine, a corporation of Maine Filed Feb. 2, 1968, Ser. No.702,704 Int. Cl. A43c 11/00 US. Cl. 36-1 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE An elongated tab affixed to a shoe and adapted to beconnected to a like tab on another shoe of a pair to securely fasten theshoes together. The tabs may be interconnected by staples, snapfasteners or other suitable means.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates in general to shoes andmore particularly concerns a tab attached to shoes to provide means forsecurely connecting shoes together in pairs.

DISCUSSION OF THE PRIOR ART In the shoe trade there is a class of shoes,known as table or rack shoes, which is generally sold in discount orself-service stores. These shoes are displayed in pairs on tables,counters or racks and are available for selfservice selection bycustomers. A customer can select a pair of shoes from the table or rackand try them on for size and fit. If the customer is not satisfied withthe shoes for one reason or another, he merely returns the pair to thecounter. This type of shoe marketing is in marked contrast to the moreexpensive and more personal retailing approach wherein a salesman bringsindividual pairs of shoes from stock for selection by a customer. Inthis latter arrangement, the shoes are under the control of the salesmanand there is little likelihood of mixing up shoe pairs or of losingindividual shoes.

In the table or rack type of shoe retaining, however, there is a greatlikelihood of individual shoes being lost or confused. These table orrack shoes are, therefore, usually fastened in pairs to avoid such lossor mix-up. Shoes of a pair are usually fastened together by string whichis passed through a hole punched in the side of each shoe upper, thestring ends then being tied or clipped together. If particular shoeshave eyelets or ornamentation such as bows or buckles, the fasteningstring is often aflixed through such eyelets or ornaments. Suchconventional fastening schemes have been found generally unsatisfactory.The shoes are handled by customers and attempts are sometimes made by acustomer to separate the shoes of a pair, causing damage to the shoesfashtened by conventional means. For example, the eyelets or holesthrough which the string passes can be ripped or ornaments can be pulledfrom the shoe. In addition, the holes punched in the shoe upper forfastening purposes mar the appearance of the shoe and may even detractfrom its commercial appeal. A further disadvantage of known shoefastening arrangements is the labor and 'time expenditure in tying theshoes together.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance withthe present invention, aninterconnection tab is aflixed to a shoe such that the shoe is notdamaged by attachment or removal of this tab. The novel tab is afilxedto the shoe during the shoe fabrication process and is adapted to beeasily connected to a like tab on another shoe of a pair which are to befastened together. The tabs are generally elongated and have one endadapted to be aflixed to a shoe and a second end adapted to be connectedto a like end of another tab which is attached to another shoe. The tabscan be made 3,482,335 Patented Dec. 9, 1969 ICC of many suitablematerials such as plastic, leather or fabric, and typically can be cutto a desired shape from a sheet material. These tabs can be afl'lxed tothe 'shoe by a suitable adhesive or by stapling and can be located, forexample, between the sole and the upper, between the heel and the upper,or on the bottom of the sole.

The free ends of the tabs on a pair of shoes are adapted to connectedsuch as by stapling or by a snap fastener. If desired, a tag containingprice or advertising information can be aflixed to the two tabs as theyare interconnected. The shoes thus fastened are firmly held together,yet the tab can be easily severed from the shoe by a customer afterpurchasing the shoes, leaving little or no visible remnant in theseparated shoe.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shoeconstructed with a tab in accordance with the principles of thisinvention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of a portion of a shoe showing an alternativeattaching point for the tab;

FIG. 3 is a side view of a portion of a shoe showing another alternativeattaching point for the tab;

FIG. 4 is a top view of a pair of shoes interconnected according to theinvention;

FIG. 5 is a top view of a tab with a snap fastener; and

FIG. 6 shows two tabs with mating snap fasteners just prior toconnection with a tag therebetween.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawing,and more particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown a shoe 11 with atab 12 attached thereto in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention. During the construction of the shoe and just prior toattaching outer sole 13 to the shoe, an additional process attaches end15 of elongated stem 14 to the bottom of the shoe upper by means of asuitable adhesive. Outer sole 13 is then secured to the bottom of theshoe covering the attached end 15 of tab 12. Connecting end 16 of tab 12is shown as an enlarged round portion of substantially the samethickness as elongated stem 14. Connecting end 16 may be solid as shownin FIG. 1, have a hole 17 therethrough as shown in FIG. 2, or have ahole fitted with one portion of a snap fastener 21 as shown in FIG. 5.

The cement used to attach end 14 to shoe 11 may be a suitable hot meltcement such as a polyester base cement sold by Ornsteen Chemicals, Inc.having the commercial designation KV. Such a cement has suitableadherent qualities so that end 15 is securely attached to the shoe. Tab12 may be made typically of polyvinyl sheet, leather or fabric. Clearpolyvinyl has been found especially suitable because of its strength andthe fact that its transparency renders it less visible than othermaterials. This characteristic of low visibility is particularlyimportant when the tab is severed from the shoe leaving a small remnantat the edge of the shoe.

Although desirable, it is not necessary that tab 12 be cemented to shoe11 prior to the application of sole 13. The hot melt cement previouslydescribed has suitable adherent qualities so that stem 14 may becemented directly to the bottom of sole 13 with cement 22 as shown inFIG. 2, after the shoe has been completely manufactured. This method ofattachment may be more economical from a manufacturing point of view.Tab 12 may also be attached between heel 23 and the shoe upper as shownin FIG. 3. This method of attachment would be similar to that shown inFIG. 1, placement being the primary difference. Of course, tab 12 may besecured to the shoe at any desired location. Although it is mostefficient to have stem 14 and enlarged end 16 made of the same material,they need not be. If the stem and the enlarged end are desired to bemade of different materials, they may either be cemented or stapled orotherwise suitably connected together to form a unitary tab. It is alsopossible that tab 12 may be a string or cord.

As shown in FIG. 4, a tag 24 has been placed between two tabs 12attached respectively to a pair of shoes. The two tabs and tag 24 arethen fastened by means of a locking staple 25, thus causing the tWoshoes 11 to be semi-permanently connected together. Tag 24 may have anydesired printing thereon, such as stock numbers, style numbers, sizesand prices, and may be imprinted with trademarks or tradenames asdesired.

Shoes which are constructed with connecting tabs may be paired togetherby the manufacturer with or without tag 24. Alternatively they may beshipped singly with attached tabs unconnected for later pairing by theretailer or wholesaler.

Another method of interconnecting the tabs of a pair of shoes is to fitone tab having a hole 17, as shown in FIG. 2, with one element of a snapfastener 21, as shown in FIG. 5, and the other identical tab on thesecond shoe with the mating element of the snap fastener. This fastenermay then be snapped together by hand for a permanent connection. FIG. 6shows how the connec tion would be made with tag 24 secured between thetwo tabs. Examples of suitable fasteners are those manufactured byUnited-Carr Inc. under stock numbers BS 90331 and BS 90229. Theseparticular fasteners have a plurality of tabs which pierce the materialof enlarged end 16 around hole 17 of tab 12 which fastener tabs are bentover to secure the fastener element to tab 12. Mating fastener elementsmay then be pressed together to make a permanent connection which cannotbe opened.

Either the locking staple or the snap fastener provide a secureconnection and either may be used as the particular circumstancesdictate. If, for example, the manufacturer connects the shoes togetherin pairs, the staple may be the most efiicient method of doing so. Ifthe retailer desires to connect the shoes together himself, the snapfasteners may be the most efficient embodiment.

Another possibility is that the shoes may be made with tabs 12 havingholes 17 which may then be used to interconnect shoes by tying the tabstogether with a string or wire. They may also be made with a slot andbarbed outer ends so that they may be interconnected without staples,snap fasteners or other external means.

Although the tabs in the drawing are shown relatively short withrectangular cross section, it is to be understood that they may be ofany desired length and may have any practicable cross section. A lengthof several inches would be necessary to allow a prospective buyer to tryon the shoes and take a few short steps While the shoes are stillconnected together. Thus, shoe tabs constructed in accordance with theinvention may easily be adapted to the requirements of any particularcustomer. The tabs may have any desired shape and end configurationrequired for a particular application.

Having described various embodiments of the present invention,modifications and improvements will likely occur to those skilled inthis art.

What is claimed is:

1. In a shoe having an upper, a means for connecting said shoe to likemeans secured to a second shoe of a pair, said means comprising:

an elongated tab having a proximal end and a distal end, said proximalend being connected to said shoe and said distal end being connected tothe distal end of a like second tab;

said pair of shoes being separable only by destroying said connectingmeans.

2. The connecting means according to claim 1, wherein:

the proximal end of said tab is secured to said shoe between its soleand upper, said distal end extending substantially beyond the side ofsaid shoe.

3. The connecting means according to claim 1, wherein:

the proximal end of said tab is secured to said shoe between its upperand heel.

4. In a shoe having an upper, a heel and a sole, means for connectingsaid shoe to like means secured to a second shoe of a pair, said meanscomprising:

an elongated strip of resilient material having a rectangular crosssection and having a proximal end and a distal end, said proximal endhaving a like rectangular cross section and being shaped and configuredfor permanent attachment to said shoe between said upper and said sole,said distal end extending substantially beyond the side of said shoe andbeing enlarged in one cross sectional dimension to facilitatesemi-permanent connection to a like distal end of a like secondelongated strip.

5. The connecting means according to claim 4 and further comprising:

a two element snap fastener, the first element being secured to saiddistal end of said elongated strip, the second element being secured tothe like distal end of said second elongated strip.

6. In a shoe having an upper and a sole, means for connecting said shoeto like means secured to a second shoe of a pair, said means comprising:

an elongated tab having a proximal end and a distal end, said proximalend being shaped and configured for attachment to said shoe, said distalend being adapted for connection to the distal end of a like second tab;

the proximal end of said tab being secured to said shoe between saidsole and said upper by means of a hot melt cement, said distal endextending substantially beyond the side of said shoe.

7. In a shoe having a sole, means for connecting said shoe to like meanssecured to a second shoe of a pair, said means comprising:

an elongated tab having a proximal end and a distal end, said proximalend being shaped and configured for attachment to said shoe, and saiddistal end being adapted for connection to the distal end of a likesecond tab;

the proximal end of said tab being secured to the outer surface of thesole of said shoe.

8. In a shoe having an upper, a heel and a sole, means for connectingsaid shoe to like means secured to a second shoe of a pair, said meanscomprising:

an elongated strip of resilent material having a rectangular crosssection and having a proximal end and a distal end, said proximal endhaving a like rectangular cross section and being shaped and configuredfor attachment to said shoe between said upper and said sole, saiddistal end extending substantially beyond the side of said shoe andbeing enlarged in one cross-sectional dimension to facilitate connectionto a like distal end of a like second elongated strip;

a two-element snap fastener, the first element being secured to saiddistal end of said elongated strip, the mating element being secured tothe like distal end of said second elongated strip; and

a tag secured between the distal ends of said elongated strips.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,300,998 4/1919 Nelson 3612,761,223 9/1956 Legeai 36-1 X 3,041,743 7/1962 Monsma 36-1 PATRICK D.LAWSON, Primary Examiner

